Hindi Diwas is a hit

In pursuance of the tradition and objective of promoting the Hindi language in Australia, the Indian community in Hindi Diwas”, a declaration of the Govt of India, on September 20 at Cinnamon Club in Cheltenham. The chief guest of the afternoon was Mr. Anil Gupta, ViceConsul (Indian High Commission) along with special guests Dr. Dinesh Srivastava and Mrs. Manjeet Theti.

The room was packed to full capacity with audiences from different walks of life expressing their support for their national language. It’s momentous that what binds all of them together is the love of their language, heritage and culture and the desire to further its cause. Hindi Niketan provides the platform to encourage this.

In his welcome speech, Dr. Sharad Gupta, Program Coordinator congratulated everyone on keeping the tradition of Indian standard time alive, considering that the function didn’t start until just before midday.

The cultural show began with a mix of people different generations putting up performances, including Hindi poem recitals by renowned poets like Harihar Jha, Rejendra Chopra and Subhash Sharma. They were also honoured with awards for the significant contribution they have made to the promotion of Hindi in Australia. Younger participants Meenal and Bhavesh Joshi made the crowd laugh uncontrollably with their jokes and the youngest participant at 4 years recited two verses in Hindi, proving that one is never too young to begin…

In an awards ceremony, recognition was given to the true stars of the day,

VCE students who took Hindi as their language and passed with impressive scores, setting a high benchmark for their younger siblings and fellow mates. Ch. Samsher Singh, President of Hindu Niketan facilitated these bright “Hindi “stars with a trophy, certificate and a cash prize, presented to them by their guru, Mrs. Theti!

“I am very excited and feel privileged that I am being facilitated in a forum like this. It makes me feel that all the effort and hard work was worth it,” said Janki Trivedi, currently a Melbourne University student who scored 49/50. Another award winner, Sakshi Singh from Ballarat Grammar said “There is no other language as expressive and sweet as Hindi. I feel great to be acknowledged by my community and elders in such a forum, it makes it more than an academic achievement! None of my other mates have had such an opportunity and experience.”

The event certainly made me proud to be a Hindi-speaking Indian.

Pinky Bhatia